Sweet Pepper Panzanella

Panzanella: it’s your excuse to eat bread and call it salad! I’ve veggie’d up the classic tomato-basil panzanella with blistered sweet peppers, tangy pickled onions, and just few torn kale leaves. It all starts with that stale bread that’s sitting on your kitchen counter. In our household of just 2 (people, that is – the dogs are paleo), we have stale bread around pretty often. These were the last bits of a rustic miche round from my favorite bread source, Easy Tiger. I just realized I labeled them as “day old,” but these scraps were actually many days old. Perfect panzanella bread. This would be a…

I love a good mango salsa. (I mean, who doesn’t?) It’s so fun and versatile – some of my favorite additions have been roasted jalapeños, smoked paprika, diced avocado, and even sesame & ginger. Today, I’m stirring in some mango habanero jam to make a sweet, juicy, and spicy filling for easy black bean tacos. These black bean tacos really couldn’t be easier – just chop and mix your ingredients – salsa, avocado, black beans, etc., and stuff them into a tortilla. (Add cheese if you want, but these are plenty flavorful without). Black Bean Tacos Variations If you can’t get your hands on a good mango…

I don’t know if it’s possible to have too many cherry tomatoes. But if you do, roasting them is the perfect way to eat a whole bunch at a time. They shrivel up into the sweetest, tangiest little bites – which are perfect to toss into simple bowls full of greens and grains. Around this time last year I posted this slow roasted tomato pasta. This year, I’m cheating the slow roast. Here’s how: 1. Use little tomatoes and it’ll go tons faster. 2. Start roasting them in low heat (like you’re supposed to). Once they begin to dry (and your impatience rises), raise the…

Back before there were a (seemingly) endless number of food blogs on the internet, there were a few I followed pretty religiously. 101 Cookbooks, Sprouted Kitchen, Seven Spoons, and one of my all time favorites: Kimberly Hasselbrink’s The Year in Food. I was new to the idea of blogs, but suddenly I spent all my time at the office procrastinating instead of working. What I was going to make that night for dinner became far more important to me that any client project I had on my plate. I was drawn to these blogs not because I needed to get dinner on the table in 30…

I first made this orzo salad recipe at my mom’s house. When I dug through her fridge, I found crunchy veggies, summer herbs, and a big, juicy mango that I absolutely had to use. I caught sight of a box of orzo pasta and a can of chickpeas in her pantry, and I immediately thought – orzo salad! It would be hearty enough to serve for dinner, but light and refreshing for the heat wave that was happening that night. I tossed together crunchy cucumbers, red onion, fresh herbs, and mango and dished it up for my family. While we…

I ate a lot of s’mores as a kid. It all started at our family’s annual summer vacations to Kentucky Lake. Later, at home, my sister and I would make them regularly in the microwave. Authentic “camp” flavor doesn’t happen in the microwave, but it was fun to watch them rise and (nearly!) explode. It probably comes as no surprise that hershey bars and jet puffed marshmallows aren’t quite my thing anymore. So, last weekend, Jack and I headed to Whole Foods where we gathered ideas and ingredients to make these fancy pants gourmet s’mores. Most of our inspiration came…

A lot of gluten free baking experiments happen around here. If you haven’t noticed them, it’s because a good many of those trials never become post-able recipes. I’ll say it (and I won’t be the first!) – gluten free baking is hard. I know many of you are pros, but for the rest of us, it can be frustrating and not to mention expensive. Today, I’m here to relieve you of all of your internet-flour purchasing by saying: just buy a pre-made flour blend. One bag, and you’re done. For years, all of my gluten free friends have sworn by…

And the season of simple recipes continues… “What are you going to do with these?” asked the farm-stand man as I was fixating on these 3 gorgeous golden tomatoes. This question always flusters me… I should have an answer, but truthfully, I buy things on a whim and usually decide what to make later. And in this case, these tomatoes were so spectacular that knew I wasn’t going to “do” much. “Um… I’m probably just going to slice and eat them…” He looked at me with a huge grin as if I had just given the right answer. I could…

There’s only one thing more summery than juicy, ripe peaches: Juicy, ripe peaches frozen into sweet, melty, almond milk popsicles! It’s summer on a stick, friends. First, you need to get your hands on some really good peaches. If you can’t find good peaches, use whatever juicy peak-season fruit you do have. (Sliced strawberries would be excellent here). For the base, whisk Vanilla Almond Breeze, with a touch of coconut oil and maple syrup. You could also use plain (sweetened) almond milk and add a bit of vanilla bean. (I’d stay away from vanilla extract this time). These are pretty…

Happy almost 4th of July! Jack and I just got back from a long week in Chicago so didn’t have time to get my flag-cake on… (not that I’ve ever made a flag cake, but there’s always next year). Since the internet seems to be blowing up with food coloring, I thought I’d take a different approach to “red and white” and share a few of my favorite summer wines. These are all very food-friendly. I’ve made some pairing suggestions but, really, they’re very versatile – perfect for any weekend picnic or cookout. (Also, they’re all under $20). Available at…

I have a confession to make: I’m obsessed with feta cheese. Growing up, my mom used to make spanakopita, (carefully wrapped phillo dough triangles stuffed with spinach and feta), every year for my birthday – it was my favorite thing and that tangy creamy flavor is still one of my fondest food memories. Of course, that’s a lot of work to do for every day meals, so nowadays I get my feta fix on salads. That tangy salty bite has a way of turning on-hand ingredients into tasty cohesive meals. Sweet potato and pomegranate, watermelon and avocado, strawberries and quinoa,…

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